The evolution of intensity certification in ISO 9001 and ISO14001: a comparative analysis by countries

STRUCTURED ABSTRACT Purpose -This paper has two main objectives: the first one is to provide a literature review of the most widespread management standard certificates, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and the second one is to pursue and intensify the previous researches about certification intensity level in both ISO standards. Design/methodology/approach - We will trace the evolution of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in terms of diffusion, improvements, and analogies from their inceptions until nowadays. For each standard, we will look at its internalization and its decertification. For this purpose, 16 countries have been selected along the period from 1999, the first year covered by ISO Survey in relation to both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, until 2014. An analysis on the evolution pattern of certification intensity levels for each country will be provided by plotting the intensity certification rates of both standards. A particular attention will be paid to China, Italy, Japan and Spain. Findings – Through both quantitative and qualitative analysis, the patterns for the selected countries have been traced. Every country shows a specific trend because of its idiosyncratic history and of its increasing participation in the international economic context. Nevertheless, some categorizations are provided, focusing more on similarities than on dissimilarities countries’ patterns can show. For this purpose, the classification into expansive, mature, retrocessive behavior is used. Originality/value - Particular attention is paid to the studies conducted by Marimon, Casadesùs, and Heras resulting in two articles published in 2008 and 2010. Based on these, our analysis will focus on the concept of certification intensity level aiming at discovering how much a country is certified against its wealth and how its certification level evolves over time.